Great content marketing attracts and engages a target audience. 81% of companies use content marketing as a core business strategy. It generates new leads, builds trust and sets you apart from your competition.

That is all indisputably great but, if we want to get started on content marketing for our charity or business, first we must know what content marketing is. My simple definition is:

Creating and sharing consistently valuable subject matter to achieve positive audience actions.

Or, even more simply:

Building relationships by providing useful information.

Content can take many forms like these below, although this is not an exhaustive list.

• Blogs like this (I find blogs great for research and planning).
• Podcasts (which I have most loyalty too).
• Videos (which I probably consume most).
• Graphics (the most easily digestible form of content).

If content marketing is something you’d like to explore for your business or charity, let’s consider how to make it truly effective.

Answer a question

There is so much content out there on the internet, it’s imperative that we don’t just create more filler. It won’t bring the reader back another time (or listener or viewer, etc).

A potential customer will come to you because they hope that you will answer a question they have. Therefore, let this be your starting point. Take the time to consider what questions you can helpfully answer and anticipate the questions that your target audience will want to ask you.

A charity promoting green energy can write usefully about the best places to charge an electric car but discussing the best photo editing software is unlikely to address any of the concerns of their target audience. Equally, Screwfix can offer helpful advice to builders choosing the best tools but those builders are unlikely to want to hear Screwfix’s view on the best holiday destination for 2023.

When you buy into content marketing, it’s tempting to try and comment on everything with the logic that the more you say, the more people will see. The reality is that unless you are providing valuable content, you will lose your audience.

Know who you are talking to

Here we come back to that most crucial of marketing components, the target audience. Speaking to the audience in a way they find accessible and engaging is half the battle (or a quarter of the battle if we are going to give equal weighting to each heading).

One of my favourite podcasts is The History of England (definitely deserving of a plug). It’s an informal amble through the story of England’s history with plenty of dad jokes and recording issues. The style may not appeal to more academic historians and I doubt anyone who is looking for high energy would stick around for too long but David Crowther (the writer and presenter) knows his target audience. They are the type who’d sit happily in a pub nursing a beer while he regales them with stories of the most colourful characters. This focus on his target audience has allowed him to transition from amateur to professional podcaster.

If you know your audience, and you really ought to if you are aiming to answer their questions, then you can create content that they will find useful and keep returning to you as you demonstrate your knowledge.

Stick to a schedule

Life is busy and there are always distractions that can get in the way but the best content marketing is regular. A schedule can help prevent us feeling overwhelmed as the next deadline rolls around and a schedule can enable us to set the workload at a manageable level.

Aubrey produces one blog a week which is posted on Thursdays. This means that people marketing their businesses or charities can find time at the end of a busy week to have a read to keep learning and developing their strategic marketing plans.

Not only does a regular rhythm help search engines notice you but your target audience will come to anticipate the post on that time or that day. If you know you have time you can create two how-to videos a week, if you don’t then just one a month is fine. Conversely, sporadic posts will look chaotic and won’t help build trust with your target audience (but please don’t become a slave to the routine).

Make sure people know

There is no point in putting time and effort into creating content if no one will see or hear it. At the top of the post, we acknowledged that there is a lot of content on the internet. We don’t want our hard work to get lost so we must market our marketing.

It goes without saying that any content created should be promoted on social media – your business/ charity’s pages and your personal pages. People who know you will be able to share your content and allow you to extend your reach (please share this post with your contacts).

Social media is only your first step though.

Consider other ways to promote your content from sending emails out to your contacts (GDPR compliant, of course), to using blog sharing sites like Blokube and Scoop.it.

Conclusion

I can’t finish without a word about AI tools. They are amazing, save loads of time and I love playing with them but I can honestly say they don’t stand up to human content creators (yet). They sometimes generate content that is simply wrong and I find AI generated content a bit bland and lacking heart. The content I engage with has the personality of the author and that’s why I end up trusting them. If you are tempted to use AI because you don’t have enough time to do what you are passionate about plus all the associated marketing, then get in touch with Aubrey to see how we can help create great content for you.

Creating good content is not hard, especially when you are an expert in your field. By answering your potential customers questions, speaking to your target audience and promoting your content, you will build trust and grow a following that will turn to you when they need a product or service.